East Williamsburg’s Space for Experimentation
originally published in Korean in the February 2025 issue of Maison Marie Claire Korea
원문은 메종 마리끌레르 2025년 2월호에 게재되었습니다
Feb 2025
By Summer Park 박지민
Photo: Naho Kubota
In the midst of East Williamsburg’s industrial sprawl, Amant carves out its own presence—a nonprofit arts space dedicated to exhibitions, performances, and artist talks with emerging and mid-career artists. Amid weathered lofts and old factories, its sharp, refined façade is a quiet yet unmistakable presence. Designed by Brooklyn-based architecture studio SO-IL, the building pairs metallic steel, precisely arranged brick, and muted gray concrete in a restrained yet intentional composition. Inside, the industrial edges give way to a green courtyard at the center, while the main gallery, with its high ceilings and narrow slivers of light, creates a quiet, meditative atmosphere.
What sets Amant (founded in 2019 by collector Lonti Ebers) apart from the usual private museum model is its refreshing lack of ego. Rather than showcasing a founder's collection, it operates more like an artistic laboratory, giving artists the increasingly rare commodities of time and space through its residency program. The bookstore and café extend this ethos—its book selection shifts with the seasons, reflecting whatever the artists-in-residence and staff happen to be obsessing over, from contemporary art to poetry to philosophy. Free and open to all, Amant resists both commercial gloss and intellectual pretense, allowing art to take shape on its own terms.
Photo: Shark Senesac
Photo: Rafael Gamo
Photo: Rafael Gamo